Could've Been, Should've Been
by TheLostMaximoff
Summary: Implied JohnxWanda and a little ToadWanda friendship. It's been five years since Toad last saw Scarlet Witch but since then her life has radically changed.


Could've Been, Should've Been  
By TheLostMaximoff  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own this stuff. I'm really happy with this one so R/R. I'm not a fan of Pyro/Wanda. Separate they're good but together, I just don't see it. Anyways I only used the Jondaness for the story's sake. Toad/Wanda all the way.  
  
She looks just like I remember her. She let her hair grow long again. She looks just like she did on the day we first met. I loved her even then and I guess I still love her now. But she's been through so much, ya know? Where do you go from here? The grass is wet under my feet. My sneakers are old, worn, and duct-tapped in spots so I can feel the water. I wonder if it's because she's crying that the grass is wet. I hope not.  
Where to start? It's been forever since I saw her last. Okay, five years but it's not like I kept count or anything. Aww, who am I kiddin'? I can still remember what happened that day. I'll never forget it.  
Magneto, that bastard, came in like he owned the damn place. Him and those four cronies o' his just barged in. He told Wanda and Pietro to pack up and get outta there. He said he was tired o' foolin' around with us three so that was it. No goodbyes, no negotiations, nothing. It's like we were garbage or something the way he just kicked us to the curb. We didn't matter anymore.  
Pietro wasn't too thrilled about it but he could never say no to Dad so off he went. Wanda didn't want to go I don't think. I really think she was kinda startin' to like it with us but what Daddy says goes. Actually it wasn't just her Dad. It was him, stupid Sparky. I could tell. She was givin' him the same look I'd been givin' her since she walked into my life. She was in love with that stupid, flame-obsessed Pyro. So off she went. Goodbye Wanda, have a nice life fighting for your father. Oh yeah, forgot to tell you he locked you in a damn asylum. Yeah, great how you conveniently forgot that part of your life.  
  
So it was just us then: Lance, Freddy, and me. We packed up too, got the hell out of Bayville. We found an apartment in another town, transferred schools, got new lives for ourselves. We actually finished high school and got jobs. Lance is a mechanic now, Freddy cooks at a restaurant, and I work for an exterminator. It's not so bad really. I get all the free snacks I want and don't even have to take a lunch break. We did okay for ourselves. Wanda should've come with us. I tried to stay in touch but all she could talk about was her and Pyro. After awhile I just quit caring, ya know? I didn't want to hear how perfect her life was. I knew the real story about what had happened. I knew what happened on that mountain and that the Wanda who loved Pyro was a fake. No one seemed to think that was wrong except for me.  
  
Has she noticed me yet? Did she ever? No. She's still kneeling in front of that marble marker crying her eyes out. God, it breaks my heart to see her like this. I shouldn't speak bad of the dead. Pyro was an okay guy I guess. It's just that wasn't the real Wanda that loved him. He didn't even care which means he didn't really love her either. I'm sorry things had to be this way. They could've been so much different.  
Pietro told me what happened when he saw me at the funeral. He came to see about his sister; I guess he really did care about her after all. You could've frozen the sun with all the coldness between him and his dad. I've never seen him this mad at his father. Anyways, when Gambit and Colossus quit to join the X-geeks, Mags nearly lost it. It was then that Pietro had had enough. He quit too, said he was tired of living in his dad's shadow. Wanda would've come with him but she wasn't thinkin' straight. She was still stuck on Pyro. God, I wish she'd never met him at all. She wouldn't hurt so much right now.  
It wasn't long after that when Wanda finally got her memories back, Pietro told me. I guess seein' her father so much put like too much extra mileage on those fake ones or somethin'. They wore out but her hate had too. She thought she could make a new life with Pyro. She didn't really wanna kill her dad no more but she didn't wanna work for him neither. Pietro said the only thing keepin' her on her dad's side was Pyro but now he ain't around no more. That's why I'm standin' in this cemetery watching her cry. Pyro's dead now, killed in action for Magneto's bullshit cause.  
That's it, yo. I'm gonna talk ta her. I don't care if it's been five years since we spoke. She needs somebody who really cares about her, the real her. She needs a friend.  
  
"Wanda?" The word sounds funny in my throat. I haven't said it in so long. She looked up, turned around, and wiped her eyes. Her eyes are still beautiful just like always.  
"Toad, is that you?" she asked, "What're you doing here?"  
"I came to see you," I replied. It was true. I was here for her just like always. Everything I've done since the day she walked into that house has been for her.  
"It's been so long," she sniffed, "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."  
"Me neither," I replied truthfully. I had given up hope that I'd ever get to see her again. I wish it were under better circumstances.  
"I loved him so much," said Wanda as she turned and looked at the tombstone, "I thought maybe we'd get married. Mrs. John Allerdyce, can you believe it? It could've been so wonderful."  
"Could've been," I repeated as I knelt beside her and she put her head on my shoulder. I put my arms around her. It was like I always wanted it to be. This moment could've been a lot better.  
"Is this how you've felt?" asked Wanda, "To love someone so much and then have it ripped away from you? How could you stand it?"  
"I don't know," I replied, "but it hurt like I know you're hurting now."  
"Why don't you hate me?" asked Wanda. I looked into her sparkling, blue eyes. How could I hate her? How could I feel anything but love towards her?  
"Because I love you too much," I replied, "It's not you I hate it's just the way this all turned out, ya know?" She cried a little more at that. I just let her. As long as she needed me I would be there.  
"Wanda?" I asked, "Why'd you leave?"  
"I don't know," replied Wanda, "Everything was so mixed up in my head. I don't even really know which me is the real one anymore. I've been jerked in so many different directions. I didn't want to but Dad said I had to and plus John was there and. . ." She stopped, not wanting to go any further.  
"What about now?" I asked. I hadn't meant to ask it aloud. She thought for a little bit.  
"I don't know," she replied, "I'm not going back with Dad. I'll make it somewhere." I was glad to hear that.  
"You could come live with me and Lance and Freddy," I suggested, "We've been thinkin' about gettin' a better place. Maybe Pietro'd wanna come too?" I hoped she would say yes. It would be like none of this had ever happened. It would be like old times.  
"That's very sweet of you," she said with a smile. She never smiles enough especially for someone who has such a great one.  
"Then you'll do it?" I asked hopefully. Wanda smiled again and shook her head. I understood.  
"Not yet," she replied, "I just need some space away from all this. Maybe someday though."  
"Anything's possible, schnookums," I told her. She laughed and nodded. With Wanda it was so true. Anything was possible with her.  
"You don't know," she whispered in my ear as she hugged me again, "how much I missed hearing you call me that. Thank you. I don't deserve a friend like you but I'm glad I have one."  
"Promise me you'll stay in touch," I said as we both got back to our feet. I didn't want to lose her again.  
"I will," she replied as she took a last look at the tombstone and then walked away, "Anything's possible." I nodded. Things could've turned out better and maybe they should've. I didn't care because I knew how things were going to turn out. Wanda Maximoff will always be a very wonderful girl and I know that no matter what happens we'll always be friends. 


End file.
